1. Field of the Invention
The invention resides in the field of operating room appliances and more particularly relates to adjustable devices for placing a patient in a wide range of positions for surgical procedures.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The invention disclosed herein is directed to a body positioner to be used in conjunction with an operating or surgical table to orient a patient in a convenient and accessible attitude for surgical procedures. The apparatus described is arranged to raise or lower the upper body of a patient lying on an operating table and consists of a platform rotatably hinged about the end of the table. The patient""s back rests against the platform and, as it is rotated, moves the patient from a lying down to a sitting up position. The main purpose of the chair is to provide the ability to continuously orient the patient""s shoulder and upper arm into a convenient position as the surgery progresses.
To this end, means are provided to hold the chair or platform in a variety of positions. The prior art known to applicant utilizes a locking ratchet mechanism operated by the surgeon or an attendant to first physically move the chair to the desired angular orientation and then to engage, or disengage for repositioning, the locking mechanism. In prior art devices, the mechanisms utilize discrete angular positions of specified angles allowing no positions in between.
In contrast, the present invention allows an infinite number of angular positions between the upper and lower limits and provides an externally powered actuator to accomplish the rotation of the platform. By these means, the manual manipulation, physical effort, and possible physical strain required by the prior art devices known to applicant is eliminated and a complete range of positions is made available to the surgeon rather than a set of preselected discrete settings.
The invention may be summarized as a patient positioning apparatus for use in conjunction with a surgical table which is directed to the lowering and raising of the upper body as an aid to, for example, the performance of shoulder surgery. The device is in the form of a chair having an adjustable backrest or upper body platform pivotally connected to a base which is arranged to be secured to a surgical table.
The platform rotates about the base and is moved and fixed in position by an externally powered actuator connected between the base and the platform at a point spaced apart from the base. The actuator extends or retracts upon command by a control means which either forms a part of the actuator or is remote from it.
Power for the actuator is preferably electrical but hydraulic or compressed air units are envisioned as well. A seat extending from the base arranged to rest upon the surgical table may optionally be provided. Additionally, portions of the platform may be removable to facilitate access to the patient.
As the invention is intended to be secured to a surgical table, preferably on both sides, a novel clamp allowing for dimensional differences in the width of the table is also disclosed. These and other features and advantages of the invention will be more fully understood from the description of the preferred embodiment taken with the drawings which follows.